Mixed Feelings
by Lil Leif
Summary: "You're so sexy when you're covered in blood." He said to her. She wondered if that's all he liked about her.
1. Chapter 1

** Guys… I've gone to the dark side. It's just so lemony over here. **

I don't enjoy killing. Truly, I don't. I just enjoyed knowing that the person I was killing could no longer go on to kill innocents. I didn't kill innocents, only those who deserved it.

My fingers slipped through a man's chest and I ripped his heart out. I threw it in the next man's face who seemed horrified that his comrade's heart had smeared blood all over his face. I used his momentary distraction to jump at him. He was dead before he even hit the ground.

I looked around for the next victim but saw none. My eyes met that of my teammate's. We walked slowly towards each other across the body-strewn battlefield. Some of the bodies were so torn up I knew their village would have difficulty identifying them.

I stepped over one last body and was standing right before my teammate. Bloodlust was coursing through my veins and I was almost shaking from the tension.

My teammate tilted his head to the side as he took me in. Blood coated me. My mask, armor, clothes, everything was covered in blood. He, however, was spotless. Not a drop had made it onto him. His white ANBU vest glowed brilliantly in the moonlight streaming down onto us.

"You're so sexy when you're covered in blood." He said softly. He always loved the violent and ruthless side of me. I didn't try to get bloody _on purpose_, it just happened. I'd lost my sword early on into the battle so I'd had to use my hands to kill my enemies.

I smirked under my mask. "You're spotless as always."

"Of course." I could hear the smile in his voice. His hands reached up and pushed his mask slightly to the side as I did the same.

Our lips met heatedly. The tension in my body subsided as he pulled me closer to him. His body was solid against mine. I ran my bloody hands down his arms, making him as dirty as I was.

He pulled away from me for a moment. Our breaths mingled. We shouldn't be doing this. It was breaking all the rules, but this wasn't the first time. It was forbidden to have relations with a teammate because it could affect the mission, but my teammate and I always managed to stay perfectly professional until after the fighting was over.

His lips fell on mine again and I felt my back hit a tree. He had transported us to the nearby woods. He lifted me up so my legs were around his waist. His lips left mine and traveled down to my neck, a particularly sensitive spot. I moaned when he bit down on it.

"Still as loud as I remember." He said in approval. This was the first time we'd been together in weeks. I had been going on regular A-rank missions with my Team Kakashi.

He kissed the spot gently to take away some of the pain and I sighed. He knew all of my sweet spots. He had even found some I hadn't known about myself.

It was over almost as quickly as it had started. These trysts usually ended pretty soon. We both desperately needed a release and fast.

After we were done I sank weakly to my knees.

"You ok?" he asked me.

"Yeah. I just need a moment." I said. My teammate was an exceptional lover. He had a perfect body and he definitely knew how to please a woman. I would often dream of him slipping into my window at night and pleasing me like he would after a battle. Maybe then I'd finally be able to see his face.

I knew he was an Uchiha, but they all had such similar builds that it was impossible to tell them apart. It could've been Sasuke for all I knew.

I understood that these secret times together were just a release for the both of us, but I wished it meant something more. I hadn't had a real boyfriend in so long and I missed being loved by someone.

I couldn't remember when we'd had sex for the first time. I know it had definitely been after a battle and we'd agreed to keep our masks on, but I couldn't remember the exact mission.

I stood and adjusted my pants. "Let's go." I said.

He nodded and we took off into the woods. The enemy's back up would be here soon and we needed to vacate the premises as soon as possible.

I glanced over at my teammate. His whole front was smeared in blood that was already dry. I couldn't help but think back to what had happened only a short time ago and I felt heat coil low in my belly. I could go for a second round but I didn't think he'd be up for it.

We didn't speak until we were almost to the gates. "I think we should clean up so if anyone sees us we're not connected to the massacre." My teammate suggested.

I looked down at myself. Even with half of the blood on him, I was still almost completely covered. "You're probably right." I replied. We veered off to the right towards a lake about a mile from the gates. We got there in no time. We knelt by the edge a few feet away from each other. We quickly washed most of the blood from our uniforms.

We made our way to the gates and scaled the wall, foregoing checking in. ANBU were allowed to skip that to preserve secrecy.

"I'll give the official report to Tsunade. Turn yours in by tomorrow evening." He said before heading off in the direction of the Hokage tower. God, that ass…

I pulled my eyes away from his retreating figure and transported myself to my apartment. I was troubled by the way he had left so quickly. Usually we said good-bye, but it seemed like he'd been in quite the hurry. Maybe he had something going on tonight.

Whatever it was, I would probably never know so I might as well forget it. I quickly stripped off all my gear until I stood naked in my apartment. I threw my clothes in the small washer and then got to work cleaning my equipment.

I carefully cleaned and sharpened all my weapons and then moved on to my armor and mask.

By the time I had finished two hours had passed and I was feeling extremely exhausted.

I slipped into my bed, still naked. I usually took care to wear something to bed, but since I had just gotten back from a mission I didn't expect to be summoned for another for at least a few days.

I fell asleep, too tired to dream.

When I woke, I could hear rain pattering on the window. I sighed. I loved rainy days. I loved all the different shades of gray the sky could become. I loved the way you could clearly see all the details of all the clouds in the sky.

I climbed out of bed, stumbling a bit as I made my way to the bathroom. I turned my shower as hot as it would go and then stepped in. The water relaxed my muscles. The hot water hadn't quite run out when I decided to get out. I toweled off and walked into my room.

I pulled on one of Sasuke's t-shirts I had stolen over the years and pulled on some shorts.

I left my room and went into my kitchen, unsurprised to see Naruto sitting at my kitchen table with a white box sitting in front of him. He always seemed to know when I had come back from a mission and always came with something for me.

"Hey, Sakura." He said, smiling when he saw me.

"Hey, Naruto. What is it today?" I asked him as I eyed the box curiously. He pulled the top off and I saw six donuts sitting inside. My mouth watered and I pounced.

"What do you say, Sakura?" Naruto asked me in a motherly voice.

"Thank you." I replied through a mouthful of food.

"You're disgusting." He wrinkled his nose in mock disgust.

I covered my mouth as I laughed. Naruto was one to talk. He could never resist talking no matter if he had something in his mouth or not. Naruto laughed along with me.

"So what happened while I was gone?" I asked when I had eaten two of the donuts.

"Nothing much. Training mostly. Oh and the Uchiha are planning on opening a new business tonight. Sasuke invited us to go. It's a black tie event. I'm still not sure what that means."

I rolled my eyes. "It means you have to wear a nice suit, Naruto."

"Well, why didn't he just say that then?"

I shook my head at my clueless friend. I would have to dig something up to wear. I hadn't been to such a fancy event in a while.

"What time does it start?" I asked.

"Around eight, I think?" he replied. "Oh! While you were gone, Kiba…" Naruto went on to tell an amusing story about Kiba, a hole, and a bathhouse full of women.

We continued to talk for a little while longer but Naruto soon excused himself saying he had to go get his hourly fill of ramen.

I decided to go down to the ANBU training center to kill some time. There were always others willing to spar or train. I put on my clean ANBU outfit and mask and then teleported outside of my apartment onto a roof about three blocks away.

The thing about being in ANBU is that _no one_ knew you were in ANBU. I didn't know anyone else and I don't think anyone knew who I was. I'd been going on missions with my partner for almost a year and I only knew he was an Uchiha because of his eyes. There were about a million Uchiha so it was impossible to know which one was my partner. The reason we didn't know each other's identities was to prevent information about members from our ranks being released. No matter how tough you were, everyone had a breaking point.

I made my way to one of the various entrances into the underground training area of ANBU headquarters. Surprisingly, I saw my partner cleaning his weapons in the corner. He usually preferred to be by himself after a mission. He wouldn't even come near the mat for a few days.

I joined him and started helping him. Between the two of us, we quickly finished. "Thanks." He said when we were done.

"No problem. Feel like sparring with me?" I asked, standing up. I held out my hand, not that he needed help getting up. He took it and I pulled him upright.

"Let's do it." He said walking towards the middle of the room away from the others. We were the best ANBU team out there and when we sparred everyone knew to get out of the way. Usually people watched and would place bets on who would win. We were pretty evenly matched when he didn't use his Sharingan, but lately we'd been sparring with it on more and more often. It made me a better fighter and it gave him practice as well.

"Let's fight with the Sharingan." I said before he could he ask. He nodded and I could see a faint crimson glint in the eyeholes of his mask. Despite the fact that they were dangerous I wasn't afraid of them. I knew he would never hurt me.

My partner and I settled into fighting stances several feet away from each other. It didn't look like he was moving anytime soon so I took the iniative and came at him. He dodged and blocked my flurry of punches and kicks. I allowed a little of my chakra into my muscles to strengthen them just a tiny bit and I knew he could tell.

He jumped away from me and pulled out some shuriken and threw them at me. I dodged and felt a wire wrap around me. I quickly performed a substitution jutsu with a nearby mannequin and then a transformation jutsu and hid in the crowd that had gathered to watch us.

When my partner discovered the substitution he looked around the arena. He walked around the edge looking for me. When he had passed me, I eased my way through the crowd and then jumped at him. He turned a split second before I landed on him and we fell to the ground. I managed to somehow end up on top. I held him down with my hand on his throat. I could feel his pulse thrumming beneath my fingers.

Our eyes met and I saw the tomoes in his eyes start to spin. I tried looking away from his eyes but I was trapped.

I blinked and found myself on the battlefield I'd left last night. Moonlight saturated everything. Bodies littered the ground.

I could see two figures straight ahead of me, hear their low voices and then I saw one lean down and kiss the other. They didn't seem to notice me as I followed them into the woods. I was fascinated. Was that really what I looked like when I was being ravished? I blushed beneath my mask at how loud I was.

Suddenly a hand snaked over my mouth and was pulling me away from the couple.

"Did you enjoy the show?" a voice asked.

I relaxed against the body of my teammate. His hand came off my mouth and I said "Of course, but it's even better experiencing it."

"I could arrange for that to happen." He replied as he pulled my closer so I could feel his erection against my ass.

I felt his mouth on the back of my neck. When he took his mouth away the wind chilled the skin where his mouth had been. His hands slid down my body. One cupped my breast through the armor and clothes I wore and the other slid down between my legs.

Something in the back of my mind made me tell him to stop.

"Why?" he asked.

"There's just something… I'm confused about." I struggled to say as his hands moved over me in delicious ways.

"Wait…" I moaned breathily. "I'm supposed to be…" Then it clicked. I pulled away from him and punched him as hard as I could. His mask cracked and as it did so did everything around us. The pieces fell away until I was back in reality.

I was back in the training area on top of my partner. Apparently, I really had punched him because his mask was almost falling apart on his face.

"Congratulations. You broke my genjutsu." He said. "Of course, next time I expect you to do it much more quickly."

I felt my cheeks heat up beneath my mask. I hadn't expected him to do give me a refresher of last night.

"I didn't expect you to take such a cheap shot." I said quietly.

"Expect the unexpected." He replied moments before I felt his hand slide up my leg to my waist and then he rolled us over.

His hands shifted to hold mine over my head. I bucked up my hips to try to dislodge him.

"Don't, you might turn me on." He said drily.

I couldn't help but laugh. There were murmurs all around us now.

"Finished?" he asked.

I glanced at the clock. It was a quarter to six. Shit, I needed to get ready for the Uchiha event. Sasuke would be pissed if I didn't show.

"Yeah. I really have to go. " I told him. He nodded then stood up and offered me a hand. I took it and then headed out of the training area. A few people slapped me on the back in congratulations.

When I emerged above ground I high-tailed it out of there. Sure, I had two hours but I still needed to find a dress and that would take who knows how long.

When I reached my apartment I quickly shucked off my training gear and hopped in the shower to wash all the sweat off.

As the hot water pounded on my back I couldn't help but think about the genjutsu my partner had put into my mind. It had definitely turned me on. My hand slid down my belly to remediate the problem but then I remembered that I had very little time and groaned in exasperation.

I left the shower soon after that and towel dried my hair. I threw on some clothes and left my apartment once again to look for a dress in one of the many dress shops around town.


	2. Chapter 2

**Calm your little hearts the next installment is here. **

I looked around the party, wondering if my ANBU teammate was around here somewhere. Of course, it's not like I would know it was him even if I did see him.

I sighed and took another drink of champagne.

"Isn't this a great party, Sakura?" Ino asked me. She was already busy scouting out potential hook-ups for the night.

"Yeah, sure, Ino." I replied.

She tore her eyes away from the crowd. "You all right, forehead?" she asked me, searching my face.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired is all." I replied. That training session had taken more out of me than I had originally thought.

"Well pull it together. There're a lot of hot guys here and you need to get laid. You're always off on those missions. You definitely need to get some, girl." Ino said taking another sip of champagne.

If only she knew… But as I looked around the room I noticed that there _were _a lot of really cute guys here. I couldn't have secret bloody trysts in the woods anymore. I needed to have a serious relationship, one with feelings and what not. This was definitely the place to find one too.

"You're right. I need to find a cute guy and dance with him and then take him home with me." I said to her.

"That's the spirit!" Ino agreed.

I glanced around the room to see if I could catch anyone's eye and there were definitely people looking. They were probably looking at Ino but odds were at least a few of them had to be looking at me too?

My dress was a black floor-length back-less number that I'd managed to find in the first store I went to. The top tied around the back of my neck and since it was backless I'd had to forego a bra that evening. I hoped no one could tell.

I looked around the room again and saw a man heading right for me. It was one of Sasuke's cousins. Shisui. We'd been on a few missions together. He was an excellent ninja. He'd always flirted with me but I could never tell if he was being serious or not as I'd seen him flirt with others.

"You ladies are looking as beautiful as always." He said when he reached us.

"Thanks." I replied. Ino was too busy looking for a guy to take home to acknowledge Shisui.

He smiled at me. "May I have this dance, Sakura?" He asked holding his hand out.

"Why not?" I asked putting my hand in his. He led me to the dance floor.

They were playing a somewhat fast song. Shisui spun me around. He pulled me close and then spiraled me out and then back to him. I don't know where he got moves like that but he was really good. The song slowed a bit and he pulled me close and swayed with me. Then he was bending me over. In the moment I was half upside down I saw others watching us and it reminded me of my training session with my partner today. And that reminded me of the genjutsu I'd been snared in which made me blush.

The song ended and I found both Shisui and I were breathing heavily. "I didn't know you could dance like that." I said to him as another song started.

"I'm just full of surprises." He said with a smile.

He pulled me against him and started swaying slowly. It was nice. He was nice. Plus he was _really _cute. Not that anyone in the Uchiha was ugly or anything it was just that Shisui was exceptionally cute. In his suit, he was absolutely mouthwatering.

"So after this lame party a few of us are going out drinking. Do you want to come?" he asked me.

"We're having so much fun here though." I said jokingly.

"True, but we'll have more fun with drinks stronger than champagne." He said smirking wickedly at me.

I hadn't gotten shitfaced in quite a while and if I was drinking with this hunk of a man I might as well.

"Count me in." I said.

"Great. I'll find you when we're about to leave."

I nodded against his shoulder.

"Ready to dance again?" he asked me. I nodded and he whirled me around the dance floor once more.

It was a little before one when Shisui came to get me. I'd danced with so many of Sasuke's cousins I couldn't remember all of their names. I was tipsy already from all the champagne I'd consumed.

"Ready to go, pretty girl?" he asked me.

"You betcha." I said with a wink. He took my arm gently and led me through the throngs of people to the door.

Outside were more of Sasuke's cousins, Sasuke himself and his brother Itachi.

"Hey look who it is!" One of his cousins shouted.

"Come to have a good time?" another asked.

"Hey, hands off. That's my teammate you're talking to." Sasuke said to his over enthusiastic cousin who had been eyeing me lewdly.

The others kept a respectful distance after that. I pouted at Sasuke who only rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, pretty girl. You still have me. I'm not afraid of my baby cousin." Shisui said, throwing his arm over my shoulder.

The alcohol made me bold and I replied. "Even if you do leave me I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find someone else."

The boys howled with laughter. Sasuke looked like he was going to be sick.

"You sure you can handle her, Shisui?" one of them asked.

"I like them feisty." He told me with a wink.

I smirked back at him and then looked up at the bar we had just arrived at. It was nicer than the one I usually went to with Ino, which explained the $40 cover charge Shisui valiantly paid for me.

Once inside we headed straight for the bar. I ordered the most alcoholic drink I could think of and proceeded to get black-out drunk.

In between trips to the bar I remember dancing with Shisui (who was even better at grinding than he was at the dancing we'd done earlier) and even dancing with Sasuke once or twice. That wasn't quite grinding and it was all for fun as I'd gotten over my childhood crush for him years ago.

I felt eyes on me and looked up to see Itachi watching me from the bar. I kept my eyes on him as I grinded against his cousin. Shisui's hands were all over me and I didn't stop him. The only one watching was Itachi.

"Let me take you home." Shisui whispered in my ear, making me break my eye contact with Itachi.

I looked over my shoulder to see his face. "What?" I asked just as his lips fell onto mine.

He was a good kisser. There's no denying that. His tongue entered my mouth somehow. He tasted like whatever he'd been drinking. It wasn't a bad taste.

He pulled away. "Let's go. Right now." He said, pulling me towards the door.

Drunk Me thought this was an excellent idea. I let him lead me out of the club. Then he was pulling me into the alley beside the club and pushing me against the wall. His mouth was on mine again and his hands were running up and down my bare back. I shivered slightly.

He moved his kisses to my neck. "God, I've been wanting to do this forever." He murmured against my skin while pulling me closer against him.

"What do you mean?" I managed to whisper. All of the sensations were rushing over me and I could barely think.

"Ever since I went on that mission to Rock with you I knew I wanted you, but you were always so damn oblivious. When I saw you tonight I knew I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off of you." He explained.

I pulled him back to mouth and we kissed deeply for who knows how long. He pushed me back against the wall and separated us by a few inches. "If we don't get to your apartment or my apartment right now I'm going to fuck you against this wall." His voice was low and I knew if we didn't move he would make good on his promise.

I nodded and formed some seals and we appeared in my bedroom. He looked around for a few moments then he pushed me down onto my bed.

He bit his lip, which I found extremely sexy as he started to shed his clothes. He threw his coat into a corner and then untucked his shirt. He slowly unbuttoned it revealing beautifully muscled skin beneath. His shirt slid to the floor and he toed his shoes and socks off before he moved his hands down his chest to the fastening of his pants.

I idly wondered if he was a boxer or briefs kind of guy. He unbuttoned his pants and the slid down his legs pleasantly revealing muscular legs and to my surprise boxer-briefs. It was the best of both worlds.

I could clearly see his erection through the thin material. He walked forward and offered me his hand. My mind flashed to this afternoon when my teammate offered me his hand. I quickly pushed it out of my head. I shouldn't be thinking about another guy when I had a god standing in front of me.

I took his hand and he gently pulled me up from the bed. He slid his hands up my bare arms and reached behind my neck to unfasten the straps. He made quick work of them.

Once it was untied, my dress slid silkily down my body until it hit the floor. I was left only in a lacy black thong. "No bra. I thought so." He said with a smirk on his face.

Now that were in my bedroom he decided to take things slowly. He lowered me gently onto my bed and laid soft kisses all over my cheeks and then down my neck. He reached my breasts and teased me by kissing all around my nipple. His lips would barely brush it but he would never purposefully touch it.

"Shisui." I moaned, twining my fingers into his hair. I felt him smirk against my skin and then he encased my nipple in his mouth. I moaned, loudly.

He released my nipple with a pop and then blew on it. The cold air made it harden and I moaned again.

He moved to my other breast and did the same thing.

I was so wet and ready for him by the time he was done.

"Please. I need you now." I begged.

"Not so fast." He said and kissed me deeply.

I reached between us and stroked his erection. He gasped and pulled away. I still had my hand on him and kept moving it, trying to get him to fuck me already.

He was tense over me, his face buried in my shoulder. It was a somewhat awkward position, but if it meant I got what I wanted I would do this for as long as it took.

He pulled away from me abruptly and flipped me over. "Get on your hands and knees." He demanded roughly. I obeyed as quickly as possible.

I heard him moving around behind me and he was pulling my panties down to my knees. Then I could feel him at my entrance.

"Shisui, oh God, please." I moaned. I felt like such a slut. On my hands and knees in front of a guy who'd hadn't even taken me on a first date.

He sheathed himself in me all at once and I screamed. I must have blacked-out for a few moments because when I came to he was already almost all the way out again.

He was breathing heavily. "Sakura. God, you're so tight. I don't think I'm going to last long."

That was ok. I wasn't going to last long either.

"Faster." I said.

He did as I asked and started pounding into me. I could feel my climax approaching. My moans became higher and louder as I got closer and closer to the end.

Shisui cried out and came inside of me. As he came he bit down on my shoulder, hard and I came. I collapsed and felt him rest on top of me. I felt his breath against my back.

I could hardly feel my body. That was very enjoyable. I was starting to feel really tired however. It'd been a long day and I'd consumed a ton of alcohol.

Shisui rolled off of me. I could hear his breaths starting to even out.

As I was slipping into sleep, I felt him pull me against him and wrap his arms around me.

When I woke, sunshine was streaming into my windows. I felt awful. I had a raging headache and my mouth tasted like I'd eaten a dead body.

I stumbled to my bathroom and loaded my toothbrush with tons of toothpaste. Then I thoroughly scrubbed my mouth. I remembered now why I hadn't gotten shitfaced in forever.

When I was done, I used the toilet. I reached up and used some of my chakra to soothe my roaring headache.

When I was done, I happened to glance in the mirror and grimaced at what I saw there. My hair was a total mess and my make up was all over the place.

I turned on the shower and jumped in when it was a reasonable temperature. I'd woken up naked and I'd avoided thinking about what exactly had happened last night.

Arms suddenly slid around me and I tensed up, prepared to defend myself.

"It's ok, Sakura. It's just me." A voice said. I relaxed. Shisui.

Wait. Shisui? Shit. Sasuke was going to be super pissed.

He kissed my shoulder and I couldn't help but relax back against him once more. "I had a great night last night. However, I definitely did not expect you to be so loud in bed." He said. "Not that I'm complaining. I'm just surprised is all."

I blushed as some of what had happened last night came back to me. I turned around in his arms and buried my face in his shoulder. "I'm so embarrassed. I never act that way. I was just drunk and-"

"Relax, Sakura. I know. You're a respectable girl." He assured me. "But I don't mind if you're a total slut in the bedroom. It's pretty hot actually." I could hear the smirk in his voice.

I pulled away and punched his arm. "Shut up." I turned back around and poured shampoo into my hand. I lathered up my hair and piled it on top of my head.

I grabbed my soap and started washing my body with it, completely ignoring Shisui. Even though he was naked, and soaking wet, and looking absolutely ravishing. It helped if I didn't look at him.

"Pass the soap, would you?" he asked me. I did what he asked as I washed myself off under the spray of water. I watched him wash himself and it suddenly felt very intimate. Even though we'd had sex this felt… different.

He looked up and caught me looking. "See something you like?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the conditioner. I squirted some into my hands and started rubbing it into my hair.

"Do mine, too." He said, kneeling down in front of me. He was much taller than me so he was like eye–level with my nipples.

I squeezed conditioner onto my hands and then massaged it into his hair. He sighed and wrapped his arms around my waist. He turned his head and rested it against my chest.

"I can hear your heart beating." He said after a second.

"Surprised I actually have one of those, right?" I replied.

He chuckled but didn't say anything for a few moments.

"Sakura?" he said.

"Yeah?"

"I really like you and I don't want this to just be a one night stand." He said quickly. I could hear the nervousness in his voice and couldn't help but smile.

I ran my fingers through his hair and said "I like you took, Shisui."

He smiled brightly and I leaned down and kissed him softly on his lips.

I pulled away and he stood up and we took turns washing the conditioner out of our hair.

We dried each other off and then headed back to my room in our towels. "I might have some things for you to wear." I told him, looking through my drawers for some of Naruto or Sasuke's things.

I pulled out a pair of Naruto's sweatpants and one of Sasuke's shirts with the Uchiha emblem on the back.

Shisui eyed it. "Please tell me you're not with another Uchiha."

I laughed. "Of course not. That's Sasuke's. I've stolen some of his and Naruto's clothing over the years because they're so damn comfortable." I pulled on a t-shirt and some sweat pants myself.

"Good, because I don't like to share." He said pulling me against him and kissing me roughly. His tongue swept across my lips and I opened my mouth. He explored it thoroughly before pulling away with a satisfied look on his face.

"Hungry?" he asked and led me out to my kitchen. He pulled several trays covered in food out of the oven and set them on the counter. "I made breakfast."

I stared at him. "Why have we never gotten together before?"

He laughed. "Probably because you were totally oblivious of my attempts to ask you out."

"In my defense, you flirt with a lot of girls and I didn't think you were serious." I replied.

He pulled two plates out of my cupboards and started loading them up with food.

We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast together. He was an excellent cook but threatened to punish me if I told anyone else. He followed it with a wicked grin and I wondered if he wouldn't make good on that threat in the near future for something else.

When breakfast was over, he helped me clean up and then told me he had to go back to his house to talk to his mom about something.

I walked him to my door which he promptly pushed me against and ravished my mouth. His lips trailed down to my neck and he bit hard enough to leave a mark. I gasped.

"See you later, pretty girl." He told me with one last kiss. Then he was gone.

A tapping noise drew my attention to the window where a messenger bird was sitting. I sighed. I'd had one day's break and I was already being sent out on another mission.

I nodded at the bird and then headed to my room to get changed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Prepare yourself, fellow perverts. Another lemon!**

"I need you two to infiltrate the rogue ninjas' base and kill them all. They've caused too many problems to be allowed to stay in Fire Country." Tsunade explained.

We both nodded and left her office, headed for the gates. This was bound to be a short mission and Tsunade had promised once we got back that we'd have at least a week off of missions unless something very important came up.

We soon left Konoha far behind and I realized I hadn't had the chance to tell Shisui good-bye. He was a ninja, he would understand.

We were bound to reach the base at around nightfall if we continued at this pace. I didn't want to use up all my chakra running though.

"We should take breaks periodically. We'll get there later, but we still need to come up with a plan and scout the place out anyway. Plus we'll conserve our chakra." I suggested to my teammate.

"No. Let's get this done tonight." He said.

"Low chakra is dangerous on this type of mission." I replied.

"Maybe you should spend more time training instead of fucking my cousins then." He said quietly.

I immediately halted. "Excuse me?" I asked.

"You heard me." He said stopping as well.

"First of all, we're not supposed to know each other's identities and second of all that is none of your business anyway." I retorted.

"Please _Blossom_, I don't see how much more obvious you could get. And the rules didn't stop you from fucking me."

My jaw dropped. He knew who I was and he was criticizing my sex life. I clenched my fists in anger. "I can't believe you just said that. I may not know who you are, but you're just as at fault as I am."

"You'd have to be pretty stupid not to have figured it out already."

"I haven't tried to figure it out. I did that to protect you, but obviously you don't feel the same way." I replied. I was hurt that he had purposefully figured me out. If we ever got caught he could throw me and all my friends to the wolves.

My teammate reached up and ripped his mask off. I covered my face and turned away. Even though I was pissed at him I didn't want to risk his safety.

"Sakura. Look at me." He said slowly. He sounded much closer than before. I turned and pulled my hands away, unable to resist.

"I-Itachi?"

He reached down and pulled my mask off. "I thought you knew for sure who I was last night when you looked at me while you were dancing with Shisui." He told me. It seemed like his eyes could see right through me.

"Did Shisui fuck you better than I did?" he asked quietly.

I couldn't answer that. I couldn't do that to Shisui after all he'd done for me. I couldn't do that to Itachi either. I didn't want to compare the two.

I turned away from Itachi. My eyes were burning and it became difficult to breathe. I didn't want Itachi to see me cry.

"I can't be your partner anymore, Itachi. We're compromised. We should have never gotten together. We screwed everything up." I said through the knot in my throat. My voice sounded high and breathy.

"Sakura, wait. We can talk this out. I shouldn't have said what I did." He said trying to repent.

I shook my head. "This mission is aborted." Then I left him standing there. I half expected him to follow but he never did.

Tears blurred my vision and I had to stop under a tree and cry. I would have to report everything to Tsunade, something I was dreading. I didn't want to see the disappointment in her eyes, but if I wanted off my team I'd have to give her a reason why.

"Well I can't say I'm proud of you, but you did the right thing." Tsunade said softly. I wiped my fingers under my eyes to get rid of the tears there. I'd cried at least three times during my retelling.

"I'll arrange for your team to be dissolved." She said and pulled a packet of papers towards her. "You should go home now and relax. Try to avoid people for a while." She suggested.

I nodded and stood up from my chair. There was a knock on the door and Tsunade yelled for them to come in.

The door opened to reveal _him_. I avoided his eyes, but couldn't help brushing by him as I went through the doorway.

"Ah, just the man I wanted to see." I heard Tsunade say as the door closed behind me. I heard something heavy thump against the wall just as the yelling started and hurried down the steps. I needed fresh air.

It was almost five in the afternoon and I was starving. I didn't have it in me to go to a restaurant. Maybe there were some leftovers from breakfast. That seemed like such a long time ago. It was hard to believe that had happened only this morning.

I made my way through the city streets, barely noticing my surroundings. I was suddenly swept up into a pair of arms and being swung around. When they set me down I saw it was Shisui.

"Hey pretty – what's wrong?" he asked when he saw my face. I shook my head sadly and continued towards home.

"You didn't lose a teammate, did you?" he asked worriedly.

"No, it's nothing like that. It's not important." I said.

"I don't think you'd look this upset if it was nothing." He replied following me down the street.

"I don't want to talk about it." I told him.

He walked silently beside me until we had almost reached my apartment. "Is it… us?"

I hesitated. "Sort of." When I saw the look on his face I quickly added, "It has nothing to do with you. I'm just a stupid, stupid idiot."

"We all make mistakes, and that doesn't make you stupid, Sakura." Shisui said. He grabbed my hand. "I'm sure no matter what it is I'll still like you."

I grimaced. It _was _his cousin I'd been unknowingly fucking, not that he would want to hear about my having sex with another guy.

"Let's talk about this in my apartment. I'd rather not have everyone on the street know my business." I said, eyeing a woman who was obviously eavesdropping.

Shisui smiled. "That's probably a good idea." We walked up to my apartment and I opened the door. I couldn't help but think of his excellent kissing skills from this morning and from his smirk and glance at me I knew he was thinking the same thing.

"How about I make dinner while you tell me everything?" he asked, heading towards the kitchen.

I nodded and followed him. I sat on the counter, far enough away so I wouldn't get in his way, but close enough that he could hear me over all the racket he made.

I watched him make me dinner as I told him what had happened in a monotone. I didn't think about what I said because if I did I would start crying again.

"Wait, what?! Itachi is the mysterious guy?" Shisui asked spinning around to look at me.

"Yeah, he wasn't very nice about it either." I answered.

"Oh God… What have I done?" Shisui mumbled to himself.

I hopped off the counter and approached him. "What are you talking about Shisui?" I asked gripping his wrist. His beautiful chocolate-y brown eyes stared into my eyes worriedly.

"A few weeks ago, Itachi barged into my apartment rambling about how he'd found a girl under "undesirable circumstances," as he put it. He wouldn't tell me who the girl was, just that she was a very, very good ninja. I told him to just tell her how he felt, but he told me that it would ruin their "dynamic." He never spoke about it again after that day. But last night, before I went to get you he asked if he could come with us to the bar."

I released his wrist and dropped my head in my hands. "No, no, no." I muttered over and over.

Shisui pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me. "What am I going to do? I thought it was just a fling, something to relieve bloodlust. He never gave any indication that he cared about me."

Shisui rubbed my back soothingly. "We'll figure it out, I promise. These things tend to work themselves out sooner rather than later anyway."

"Can I just stay in my apartment forever?" I asked him, dreading the thought of ever seeing Itachi again.

"Only if I'm allowed to stay with you." He said with a grin.

I looked up at him. Now that I knew what I knew, should I keep going there with Shisui? I really liked him but I was confused by the whole Itachi incident. It's not like he ever made a move to further our relationship beyond meaningless sex, so of course I had found someone else.

"Ok." I gave him a small smile.

He backed me up against the counter. "You need to stay here, if you want to eat dinner anytime soon."

"Why can't you be dinner?" I asked him, just as my stomach growled loudly.

He laughed. "I think I'll be dessert instead."

I grinned and nodded and he leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on my lips.

When he pulled away I groaned. "Hurry up and finish dinner. It's pretty hot watching you cook for me. I've never met a guy who could actually cook."

"What can I say? I'm a man of many talents." He replied.

Dinner was delicious. He'd cooked chicken breast and then had made a sweet sauce that went over the chicken. It was so good I went back for seconds. Shisui looked way too proud of himself about that.

"Ready for dessert?" he asked when I had finished.

I gave him a wicked look and stood up from my chair. He picked up our plates and set them in the sink, which I promptly pushed him up against. I was behind him so I ran my hands up and down his chest. I could feel his nipples get hard beneath the thin fabric of his shirt. I grinned and pinched them. I was rewarded with a groan.

In the blink of an eye, he switched positions. I was pressed against the sink with his leg between mine. There was only a hair's breadth of space between us.

Shisui was looking down at me and I could see the desire in his eyes. His eyes suddenly bled crimson and his Sharingan appeared.

"I can see why Itachi lost control. You look so sexy in your ANBU outfit. Everything looks so _tight_." His hands grabbed my ass then, pulling me up against him.

"Lets not talk about him." I said as Shisui hands slid over my ass up to waist and then over my back. He unbuckled the straps over my shoulders and the heavy armor fell to the floor with a thud.

I was left in a form fitting sleeveless shirt and tight pants.

I spun us around again so he was pushed up against the counter. I reached up and removed his Konoha headband. His hair fell into his eyes in little curls. I ran my fingers through his hair and pulled him down to my face.

We kissed for some time. His hands were running up and down my back and pulling me harder against him. I ran my fingers through his hair, sometimes scratching his scalp. He seemed to like it when I scratched the place where his hair met the back of his neck.

He groaned and laid his head on my shoulder. "You're so good at this."

"I know where the body's sensitive spots are. Medic, remember?" I replied.

He laughed breathily. I could feel his growing erection press up against my stomach. He suddenly picked me up and carried me to my bedroom.

He laid me gently on the bed and kissed me tenderly. I reached down and pulled his shirt up over his head. It had only been a day but I'd forgotten how beautiful he was. I ran my hands over his chest and pinched his nipples again.

My legs were wrapped around his waist so I gathered strength in my legs and flipped us over. I kissed my way from his mouth to his cheek and then down to his neck.

I sucked hard so I would leave a mark and I could hear him gasp. "Did you just… _mark _me?" he asked disbelievingly. I only smirked at him and moved down his chest.

Shisui seemed to like it a little rough when it came to his nipples. When I reached them I bit down lightly and pulled gently. His back arched up with me and he moaned.

I released his nipple and he fell back to the bed. He glared down at me but I just grinned and moved to the other side. I did the same thing and he reacted in the same way.

Then I moved slowly down his chest, taking care to kiss each and every rippling muscle. He truly had a beautiful body. The muscles were perfectly defined and rock hard.

When I reached the waistband of his pants, I teased him by kissing all around the hem and barely brushing my fingers beneath it. "Stop teasing me." He begged.

I smiled up at him and then proceeded to unbutton his pants. I pulled them down. I could clearly see the outline of his erection through the tight boxer-briefs.

I ran a finger lightly over it and then gripped the base. I lowered my mouth over the head and soaked the fabric with spit. Shisui moaned loudly.

Spurred on by the noises he was making I licked up and down his shaft a few times. He was writhing beneath me now.

I decided to take pity on him and I reached up and pulled down the last layer separating us. He lifted his hips to help me and then wiggled around until he was completely uncovered before me.

I sat up on my knees and took a moment to admire him. He truly was an excellent piece of male specimen. He had his forearm thrown over his eyes, which made the muscles in his bicep flex beautifully.

I laid myself out on the bed next to him and grabbed his dick by the base. I dragged my tongue from my hand up to the head, slowly, oh so slowly. Shisui let out one long continuous moan that only ended when I reached the head.

"Fuck, Sakura." He said.

I swirled my tongue around the head and then lowered my mouth over it. I bobbed my head up and down a few times. I noticed his hips starting to move in time with my mouth. I put both hands on his hips to hold him down and continued moving my head up and down.

I was slowly going lower on each stroke downwards and had almost reached the base when Shisui tapped my shoulder.

I looked up at him. "If you keep doing that, I'm not going to last much longer."

I gave him one last hard suck and then climbed up his body. "I can't believe you're still almost completely dressed." Shisui groaned.

I looked down at myself, just now realizing that I was indeed almost completely dressed.

He flipped us over and immediately had my shirt off. My chest bindings proved to be too much trouble for him so he produced a kunai out of nowhere and simply cut through them, careful not to cut me in the process.

He ripped my pants off. I'm not even joking. I'm pretty sure I heard something rip. He pulled my panties off unceremoniously.

He kissed me hard and wasted no time slipping a finger inside me. He swallowed my gasp.

He kissed down to my breasts and sucked on each of them for a few moments and then was moving down my body. Soon he was between my legs and looking at my most private place.

He slid another finger slowly inside and I felt his tongue slide up my slit. I couldn't help but moan. I was quickly nearing my climax. I'd always been super sensitive to each and every touch, and Shisui knew all the right ways to get me off.

When he added a third finger, everything went white as I climaxed. It took me several moments to come down from my high. When I came to Shisui was placing my legs on his shoulders. I could feel his dick at my entrance and when our eyes met, he entered me.

I was still over-sensitized from my climax. I cried out from the pleasure-pain. Shisui was steadily picking up the pace and as he went faster and harder, I could feel myself approaching another climax.

He had me bent almost double. Our eyes were locked and all I could see were his blood-red eyes. My mind flashed to the genjutsu I'd been caught in at training yesterday.

The remembered feel of my teammate's – no, Itachi's – body against mine made me cum. Hard.

My climax triggered Shisui's. He hovered over me for a few moments and then pulled out and fell onto his side.

When my mind cleared, I immediately felt guilty. Why the hell was I thinking about my piece of shit teammate when I was having sex with an amazing guy?

Shisui pulled me against him and fell asleep quickly. I could feel his breaths brushing the back of my neck, cooling the sweat there.

Guilt overwhelmed me. I slipped out of bed and walked to my bathroom. I took a quick shower and then went back to my room. I slipped on some training clothes and threw some clothes into a pack. I needed to leave. I couldn't be here anymore. It was too painful for me and everyone involved.

Throughout all of this, Shisui didn't even stir. I looked at him one last time before I quietly shut the door to my room and quickly exited my house.

I ran as fast as I could to the Hokage tower. Tsunade's light was still on as I had expected.

I entered through her window. The tower was locked and I didn't feel like performing jutsu.

"Hello, Sakura." Tsunade said as I walked around to the front of her desk.

"May I please have a mission that will take me far away from here for a while?" I asked in a rush.

Tsunade eyed me.

"I don't care if it's a C-rank. I just need to get out of here." I begged.

Tsunade shuffled some papers together and said "We are running low on rare herbs. Here's a list. Be back by the end of the month."

That was three weeks away. Three whole weeks by myself. It sounded like heaven.

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate this." I told her, hugging the list to my chest.

"Don't get used to it, kid. When you get back there'll be shifts at the hospital to complete." She said gruffly, but I could see the worry and care in her eyes all the same.

I smiled. "You betcha." Then I left the way I came.


	4. Chapter 4

I bent down and inspected the flower. I was in the northern part of Fire and it was starting to get chilly. Luckily, I had packed a jacket with me otherwise I would've been SOL.

The flower was indeed the one I was looking for. I pulled a storage scroll out of one of the jacket's pockets and unrolled it. I quickly harvested the flowers, leaving a few to reproduce more flowers. I sealed the flowers in the scroll and quickly rolled it back up and put it back in its pocket.

"You're Haruno Sakura, aren't you?" A voice asked from behind me.

I turned. A man was standing in the shade of the trees. I couldn't make out his features but a feeling of uneasiness swept through me.

"Who's asking?" I replied.

"You have all of her characteristics: the gaudy pink hair, knowledge of rare plants, the Konoha symbol."

"Then she must be me right?" I asked.

I could feel his eyes studying me. "You're going to have to come with us now, Haruno-san." He said after a few moments. "You can make this easy on yourself and we won't even have to knock you out."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"That is for me to know, and you to find out." He said cryptically. Then blackness enveloped me. I wasn't exactly unconscious but I couldn't move my body at all. I couldn't see anything. I suspected I was caught in some kind of genjutsu. I tried breaking it, but it was no use.

"Be careful with her. The master doesn't want her damaged." The man said. I felt strong arms hoist me up and then I was thrown over someone's shoulder. This someone had to be very large. The ground felt very far away and his shoulders were very broad.

I bounced along on this brute's shoulder for quite a while. The men didn't speak, but by the sound of their footsteps there had to be at least ten.

It got steadily colder as time went on and soon my body couldn't help but shiver in an attempt to keep me warm.

We traveled for maybe another hour before I heard the scrape of a metal door against rock and warmth enveloped me. My limbs tingled painfully as warmth seeped back into them.

I lost track of where the men took me. We took so many turns it was impossible to remember. It felt like they took detours just to confuse me.

Then the brute was lowering me onto a chair and the darkness was removed from around me. I found my hands and legs had been tied to the chair with simple rope. Who did these people think I was? Some genin? I didn't train for hours every day to be trapped by rope. I was tempted to rip through them right that instant, but decided to bide my time.

"Hello, Haruno Sakura. I've been waiting to meet you for a very long time." A man said. He was leaning against a table with his arms crossed over his chest. He was much taller than I was and had shaggy blonde hair that often fell into his dark eyes.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Three years ago, you and that blasted team of yours raided my home and killed my parents. I believe it was that damn Uchiha who dealt the killing blow. They were about to kill me too, but you asked that I be spared. You shouldn't have done that. Now I'm going to kill you to send a message to your village. You don't destroy things precious to me and get away with it."

I struggled to remember that particular mission. Team Kakashi had been dispatched to investigate a potential human trafficking port. At first glance, we thought Tsunade had been mistaken as it seemed to be a simple family on a simple farm, but when we investigated the barn we found hundreds of naked girls in chains. They had begged us to help them and it had broken my heart to leave them there for the few hours until dark. We had made a plan and as he'd said Sasuke had killed the parents. I was the one charged with helping the girls. They seemed to be afraid of the boys and in those moments I wished another girl had been with me. We'd eventually gotten them all to safety but it had taken a while.

He straightened from the table and came close to me. He knelt down in front of my chair and looked up into my eyes. "I see you remember. You were right in thinking that I had no idea what my parents were doing but those girls deserved it! They were little sluts who ran away from home. My parents were all I had and your team took them away from me and now I'm going to take you away from yours." He said angrily.

He stepped back and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "You see, I've been running various illegal businesses from this hideout, hoping your team would come to break it all up, but they never did. When I caught wind of your little solo mission I knew it would be the perfect opportunity to spirit you away."

This must have been the rogue ninja base Tsunade had sent Itachi and I to destroy… only we never had because Itachi and I had our falling out.

The man pulled a sharp dagger out of a sheath by his side. "Now, it's time for you to die. Don't worry we'll send your body back to Konoha so you can be buried with the rest of your fallen comrades."

As he approached I gathered chakra in my hands and feet. He was leaning down to slit my throat when I ripped out of the bonds. I turned the dagger around a stabbed him with it in his side. He fell to his knees. I put my hand on the top of his head and he was immediately knocked out.

Working quickly I pulled out one of my empty storage scrolls and deposited his body into it. Luckily they had been too stupid to take away my supplies. Not that I had very many weapons anyway, but still I'd need everything to fight my way out of here.

I pressed my ear against the door. I channeled chakra to strengthen my hearing and heard someone breathing on the side. I backed up a step or two and then kicked down the door. The door flew down the hallway. The hallway was lined with lights at equal intervals with doors between them.

The doors up and down the hallway opened and people rushed at me. I had to be careful with my strength, as we appeared to be underground. I didn't want the tunnels to collapse on top of me. I suddenly felt angry that I was in this situation. If Itachi hadn't been a total ass, I wouldn't have been in this situation, yet here I was. I let my anger rush over my and prepared myself for the oncoming rush of enemies.

The first man reached me. I grabbed the punch he'd been throwing and slammed him against the wall. I grabbed the knife off his belt and slashed at the next guy, catching his chest. He pulled out his own knife. I merely ducked beneath his next swing and stabbed him in the heart. I pulled the knife out and slowly battled my way down the hallway.

Soon, I was covered in blood and the hallway was littered with bodies. I heard a groan somewhere behind me. I followed the noise to a man whom I'd stabbed in the side. He would bleed out in a matter of minutes.

"How do I get out of here?" I asked, kneeling down.

"Go fuck yourself." He replied.

I pushed my fingers into his wound and he screamed. "Do you have a proper response now?" I asked.

"Take every right and you'll eventually find your way out." He replied weakly. His skin was almost paper white and I knew he was about to die.

"Thank you." I said as I stood up and walked away.

I took the next few rights and could only hope he'd been telling the truth. I didn't come across anyone else for a while. Then an alarm went off. I was surprised it had taken them this long to discover the hallway of death. These people were amateurs. Itachi and I could have taken them out in a matter of minutes.

I only had half my chakra left so I would have to be careful fighting the rest of these idiots. Even idiots could get lucky and land a hit.

I heard the pounding of feet and orders being shouted and I knew the enemies were almost on me. I looked around for somewhere to hide and decided on a little niche between the lights. Boots stomped past and when the last guy was passing me I slashed the tendon in his knee. He screamed and fell to the ground. I quickly broke his neck.

I managed to take down three more before those at the front caught on that something was very _wrong_. The hallway was narrow just like all the others so they could only come at me one at a time.

I worked my way through them. I was on the leader when I heard the whistle of a knife. I wasn't able to move out of the way fast enough and it sliced through my side.

I picked it up and used it to kill the leader then I went down the hall and broke every last one of their necks to make sure they were dead.

My side was throbbing and it was soon covered in blood. I used as little chakra as possible to stitch the skin back together to prevent more blood loss. That didn't help the damage on the inside though.

I finally reached a wide room with huge doors. It was colder here than it had been in the rest of the base. This must be the exit. I headed for the doors.

There was a quiet noise behind me. I turned around. Standing there was a giant of a man. This must have been the one who carried me here. He held a massive sword in his hand. He took a menacing step forward.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." I warned.

He let out a battle yell and charged at me. For such a big man he was surprisingly agile. He managed to dodge my blows.

We exchanged more blows with neither of us getting the upper hand. We clashed and then sprung away from each other. We were breathing hard. My chakra was extremely low and I knew I'd have to defeat him soon if I wanted to get out of here alive.

I brought my hands together to form the signs of a genjutsu Sasuke had helped me master for my birthday. I had just enough chakra to perform it.

The man froze and I knew what he was seeing. Beautiful Sakura trees surrounded him. Petals were falling softly to the ground, only when they met skin they would burn like acid.

Right on cue, he started screaming. He started scratching at his skin opening huge cuts. Blood streamed from his arms.

I couldn't watch it any longer. I walked behind him, jumped up and broke his neck with a twist of my hands. I jumped out of the way of his body. It fell with a loud thud and then was still, forever.

I looked around. The base was completely still. I was alone; not another single being was alive. The anger that had swept through me earlier was completely gone.

Dizziness swept over me. That would be the chakra exhaustion rearing its ugly head.

I fell to my knees, my body unable to support my weight. Black spots filled my vision and I could tell I was going to black out soon.

I reached into my vest and pulled out the scroll Naruto had given me for my eighteenth birthday.

It spilled open and I ran my blood-covered hand over the symbols. Then the darkness completely covered my vision. I thought I heard someone yell my name, but it might've just been my imagination.

"-supposed to know they were targeting her, Naruto?" Tsunade's voice filtered angrily through my head.

I opened my eyes slightly and saw the two of them standing at the foot of my bed. I felt pressure on my hand and looked over to see crimson eyes staring at me worriedly. I was unable to identify which Uchiha it was as my eyes started to slip closed once more.

"She's awake!" I heard him exclaim right before I fell back into the abyss.

My dreams were filled with horrifying images of dead friends and crimson eyes staring evilly. The final vision was of myself sitting on a throne of dead bodies.

My eyes flashed open and I took in a deep breath of air. It wasn't real. They were just bad dreams.

"You know you had everyone really worried." A voice said.

I jumped a little and looked over to see Itachi looking out of the window. I was unsure of what to say. Things felt so awkward between us now. I couldn't see him as my teammate anymore.

"_I _was worried." He said quietly.

"You don't get to worry about me anymore." I said angrily. He ruined everything. We couldn't even be teammates now.

"Why? Because you're with _Shisui_?" He made his cousin's name sound like a curse.

"No, because you hurt me. You made me feel like an idiot. Shisui told me that you talked to him about me. Why didn't you tell me how you felt?" I asked, needing to know.

"Because I didn't want to change what we had between us."

"Well it's too late for that now, isn't it?" I asked.

"Why didn't you talk with me about it? We could've worked it out. Why did you have to leave? When they brought you in, you looked… you looked dead. I thought you were _dead_, Sakura!" Itachi said turning and stalking towards my bed.

I cringed away from him. I'd never seen him like this before. He was always so calm and collected. "I'm sorry." I said in a small voice.

"I don't know what I would've done if you died." He whispered, reaching up and cupping my cheek. He sat on the edge of my bed.

The warmth of his hand seeped into me and I realized I'd missed him. He helped keep me calm and logical, when all I'd been lately was hot headed and reckless and angry.

"Your team checked out the base while you were recovering. There was no one left alive. You killed everyone there singlehandedly." Itachi informed me.

"I thought so." I replied, looking down at my blanket. It didn't feel right to be proud of that amount of slaughter. Maybe my hands were blood-soaked but that didn't mean I took pride in it.

Itachi lifted my chin with his fingers. "I'm proud of you for surviving. Not very many people would be able to survive that kind of onslaught." I felt myself blush and looked away from his eyes.

He cocked his head, listening. Then he leaned in and left a light kiss on my forehead.

When the door opened, he was already gone.

I was discharged later that morning. The nurses fussed over me until Tsunade ordered them to attend to their other patients.

She informed me that the man I had stored in the scroll was now in the Interrogation Department. They hadn't gotten anything out of him yet but Tsunade was positive he would crack soon.

"Now I believe you have some visitors." She said with a smile. She went to the door and opened it. Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi spilled inside. Well, Naruto did.

"Sakura! You're ok!" Naruto said. He jumped on the bed and pulled me into a hug.

"I'm not helpless anymore, Naruto. I can handle myself." I replied.

"I'm just glad you had my scroll on you. You scared the crap out of me when I saw you!" he scolded. "Although I think it's safe to say that we're all impressed with what you did. Everyone in the village is talking about it. We couldn't even identify some of the bodies!" Naruto continued gleefully.

"Um, thanks." I replied. I was still uncomfortable with the thought of all that death on my hands.

"I knew you could handle yourself, Sakura." Kakashi said, giving me an eye crease.

Sasuke uncharacteristically reached out and squeezed my hand. I smiled at him and though he would probably never admit it out loud I could tell he cared for me in his own way.

The door banged open, hitting the wall as Shisui rushed in. "I heard she was awake?"

The others parted, allowing him to see me.

"Sakura…" he breathed. He stumbled to the bed. He was looking down at me with an unreadable look.

"Naruto, let's go." I heard Kakashi say.

"But why? We just got here." Naruto protested.

"I'll buy you ramen." Kakashi offered.

Then Shisui and I were alone in the hospital room.

"Why did you leave? You didn't even write a note? I thought something had happened to you." He said.

"I had to figure out how I wanted to go forward and I didn't want you to be with me. It's not like I planned to be kidnapped." I replied.

"You could've died. I can't believe you took on all those people by yourself. You should've called for back-up." He told me.

"I handled them perfectly. I was barely even hurt. Do you think I'm not capable enough to protect myself?" I asked, a little hurt.

"No, but you wouldn't have been hurt at all if you had called for back-up." He replied.

"That would've taken too long. I might've been injured while I was distracted trying to call for back up. It wasn't an option."

Shisui leaned away from me. "I just can't believe you would be so reckless with your life."

"I wasn't reckless. I barely got hurt. I'm just in here from chakra exhaustion."

"You could have died, Sakura. What if you had missed someone? What if you didn't have that scroll on you? This village needs you. I… need you." He said, avoiding my eyes.

I didn't have an answer for him. I still felt like he doubted my abilities. Like he thought I _needed _back up.

I quickly removed all the tubes and needles embedded in my skin and then pulled the covers off my legs. I got out of bed and went to the metal closet in the corner of the room. As I had expected there was a set of scrubs in there. I untied the thin gown and quickly slipped on the scrubs.

"Where are you going?" Shisui asked me.

"Training. You don't think I can defend myself, then fight me." I told him.

I slid open the window and crouched on the sill. "Well?" I asked.

He grimaced but followed me out the window.


	5. Chapter 5

**This is a really short chapter guys, but things start to get intense in the next installment.**

The training ground was completely ruined. Craters smoked everywhere. The lake was completely displaced; trees had been uprooted and were lying all over the place. And there we were, in the middle of it all.

It had been quite a fight. The missions we'd had together had required very little fighting, so neither of us knew what skills the other possessed.

The fight had taken a lot out of me and I knew if I wasn't careful I'd soon end back up in the hospital for chakra exhaustion again.

I had Shisui pinned to the ground. He was plainly exhausted. Both of our chests were heaving and we were both bleeding from multiple small cuts all over our bodies. My hands were trashed from throwing trees around all day.

But Shisui was impressed and that was all that mattered to me.

"Ok, maybe I underestimated you slightly." He admitted.

"Slightly?" I asked with a grin, putting a little more pressure on his throat.

"Ok, ok a lot. Happy? You can take care of yourself." He amended.

"Thank you, and don't you forget that." I told him. "I don't need to be protected anymore."

"Is it so bad that I want to protect you?" he asked.

"I just want you to understand that I _can _take care of myself." I explained.

Shisui thought about it, then nodded. "I understand."

That was the difference between Shisui and Itachi, I realized. Itachi had known from the very beginning that he didn't need to protect me and hadn't tried, but I'd been forced to show Shisui that I could hold my own even when I'd just gotten out of the hospital. And I could tell he would still try to protect me even though I didn't need it.

I got off of Shisui. "I should probably head home. I really need a shower. I smell like the hospital and dirt."

Shisui laughed. "Care if I join you?" He looked so hopeful.

"I think I want to spend some time to myself tonight, you know? Me time. Maybe I'll even do my nails or something equally girly." I told him, and then added when he still looked dejected. "But you can come over tomorrow morning and make me breakfast."

He smiled. "I'll be there." He gave me a quick kiss and then raced off.

I headed back to my apartment and quietly let myself in. I was unsurprised to see Itachi sitting on my couch, waiting for me.

"Make me forget everything. Please."

"So how did you sleep last night?" Shisui asked me over a plate of bacon.

"Really well, actually. Probably the best sleep I've had in a while. As soon as I got home I crashed." I had slept so well, I'd gone to bed in the scrubs I'd battled in and it was Shisui who'd woken me up this morning.

"Yeah it took me a few tries to wake you up. I didn't realize you were such a heavy sleeper." He said.

"I'm usually not. I must have been completely wiped out." I took a bite of the delicious bacon.

After he'd woken me, I'd taken a much-needed shower. I tossed the scrubs and slipped into my most comfortable pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

Shisui and I fell into a comfortable silence as we ate our food. Being ninja, we required more nutrition than regular civilians. We could easily finish off a package of bacon by ourselves.

When we were both stuffed, we lazed around my living room for a while. He sat on the couch watching TV while I read a book with my head in his lap. He was unconsciously running his fingers through my hair, which I found very soothing.

When the program ended, Shisui turned off the TV.

"So, any plans for today?" he asked.

I finished the paragraph I was reading and then marked the page with my finger. "Not really. I have a hospital shift later tonight, but nothing besides that."

Shisui seemed fine with just staying at my apartment and hanging out with me all day.

We talked a lot and laughed. We watched TV and had another round of amazing sex.

He left my apartment when it started getting dark outside. "My mom is making dinner for me and she'll be super pissed if I miss it. I would invite you over too, but I know your shift starts soon."

We kissed in my doorway and then he pulled away reluctantly. I watched him go. He had a really cute butt.

I closed my door and proceeded to get ready for my shift at the hospital.

The month passed quickly. It was all a blur of hospital shifts, dinners with Team Kakashi and Shisui, Shisui, Shisui. Hardly a day went by that I didn't see him. It was nice to have him around all the time. All of my friends were busy with their own lives and hardly had time for me if we weren't going on missions together.

At the end of the month, Tsunade summoned me to her office using the messenger birds. That could only mean one thing: a mission.

I quickly changed into my ANBU gear and then went to her office. My teammate was already there waiting for me. I gave him a curt nod of acknowledgement and then awaited instructions from Tsunade.

"There's been some disturbance in Wave that I don't like. Check out what's causing it, but don't reveal your presence. Your best bet to start is probably the ninja village." She informed us.

"Yes, Hokage." My partner and I said in unison, bowing.

She nodded. "Very well then. Weasel, please stay behind for a moment. Blossom you're free to go."

I glanced at my teammate. His posture was relaxed, so it didn't seem like he was in trouble.

"I'll meet you at the gates at dawn." Was all he said. I nodded to both of them and then headed home to pack.

**ITACHI**

I sank into the chair in front of Tsunade's desk.

"You're sure you can handle this?" Tsunade asked me.

"Yes, she'll be fine." I replied.

That was the first time I'd been close enough to touch Sakura in a month. However, that didn't mean I wasn't keeping an eye on her. Was that creepy? Maybe, but I needed to make sure she was ok and that the genjutsu I'd performed on her hadn't seriously affected her. Well, besides, you know, taking her memories.

It was painful to see her with Shisui. I had informed him of her decision and he had promised me he would never speak of it with her. I didn't want to take her memories but she begged me. She told me she couldn't live without me as her teammate, but we couldn't be teammates after everything that had happened between us.

Even a month later it still hurt to think about the fact that she only thought of me as a teammate.

"That's not what I asked you, Uchiha, and you know it." Tsunade responded, glaring at me. It felt like I wasn't even wearing a mask.

"I'll remain professional throughout our mission if that's what you're worried about. I won't even touch her unless circumstances require it." I replied monotonously. I could do this. I just had to crush every emotion I had towards Sakura that was anything more than one would feel for a teammate.

"I know it's tough, but stay strong. At least you know she still wants you in her life." Yes, but not in the way I needed her to be.

"Are we done here?" I asked curtly. I wanted to go home and pack and prepare myself for the long journey ahead of me.

Tsunade sighed. "I guess. Be careful and good luck."

I stood and left her office. I wished I could forget Sakura, but one of us had to hold the secrets of what had happened between us.

I'm not sure where things went wrong. We'd done everything by the book. We'd used disguises everywhere we went; been careful to erase whom ever we interviewed memories of us. They must have caught us sending word back to Konoha.

My teammate and I had been in the Village Hidden in the Rain for almost three months. The first month, the rain had been hard to get used to. The sun never shone here and I couldn't help but sink into a depression.

My teammate helped keep my spirits up. We would go to private places he found and talk about home. He would hold me whenever I felt like the loneliness was becoming too much. Around month two, I started to feel unsafe wherever I went. It felt like eyes were watching me all the time. I begged my teammate to stay with me. We had to separate at times and sometimes I could barely function, but I soldiered on because it was for the good of the mission.

I'd been on missions like this before. I'd once been gone from home for over six months and I had never felt this way. But there was just something about this place…

I could tell my teammate was worried about me. Finally one night he said, "We have enough information now. We're leaving tomorrow."

I sat up on the bed where I'd been slowly cleaning my weapons. "Really? Do you mean it?"

"Yes, of course." He replied. I jumped off the bed and tackled him in a hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I squealed, squeezing him.

I packed my meager belongings as fast as possible and then jumped into bed. I snuggled under the covers and waited for my teammate to join me. This mission was nowhere near the first time we'd shared a bed, but our relationship was completely platonic. Plus I _needed _him. I couldn't sleep without knowing for sure that he was safe in bed beside me.

When he was done packing, he climbed in beside me, close enough that I could feel the heat of his body against my back.

"We'll be home soon." He whispered softly as I slipped into sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

The only warning we had was a slight creak. My partner was already out of the bed, fighting the first guy coming through the window.

Adrenalin rushed through my body. I threw a kunai at the enemy coming in through the door. Another followed and then another and another. They kept streaming into our little hotel room.

Soon there was barely room to fight. I fought my way to a wall that would soon lead outside.

I punched out a huge hole and then jumped two stories to the ground. Unfortunately, there were more enemies outside. Much more than I had anticipated. It looked like their entire army was converging on us. Knowing how secretive Rain could be this was very likely.

There were too many of them. In between one enemy and the next I looked for my teammate in the throng, but it was impossible to spot him.

I was completely drenched in water and in blood. The water was coming down so hard it was difficult to see.

The ninjas were coming harder and faster now. As soon as I took one down there were three more behind him. Sheer numbers can take down even the greatest ninja.

I shook my head to clear such depressing thoughts and focused solely on the battles at hand.

I was moving onto a new wave of ninja when the crowd seemed to thin a bit and I saw another body fighting. Time seemed to slow down as a ninja with bright orange hair appeared behind him and slid a black metal pipe through him.

I vaguely heard someone screaming and it took a second to realize that it was me. I was the one who was screaming.

I shoved through the enemy ninja. I caught my teammate just as he was about to fall.

"No no no no no…" was all I was able to say. The hand that wasn't supporting him fluttered over the pipe currently embedded in his chest. My chakra was too depleted to heal a wound of that stature.

"Don't leave me… please." I begged.

I felt the sharp edge of a pipe against the skin of my neck. "Surrender or die." A cold voice demanded.

"What do you want from us?" I asked.

"Information. Do you surrender?" the voice asked. He pressed the tip into my skin. I felt warm blood trickle down my neck, quickly replaced by the chill of the rain.

I realized I was shaking. My teammate looked like he had passed out from the pain. It hit me how alone I was just then. My partner was usually the one who made the calls, not that I didn't have a say in what we did, but he was more experienced than I was so it only made sense to do as he said.

But now I was all alone. I tried to think of what my teammate would have done in this situation but drew a blank.

I didn't want to die and my only chance - however slim that chance might have been – to save my teammate was to surrender.

"Yes." I said quietly. He didn't appear to hear me so I screamed it for everyone to hear the shame and defeat in my voice.

"Yes, God help me, yes."

At least they put us in adjacent cells. I leaned against the bars between us and watched my teammate intensely. They had removed the pipe and had healed him just enough so he wouldn't die right away.

After what felt like hours of staring, my teammate finally stirred. He coughed then groaned in pain.

"Are you ok?" I asked lunging against the bars.

My teammates head lolled to the side to look at me. "Sakura. Where are we?"

I gasped. "How do you know my name?"

"I've known for a very long time. Now answer my question." He said curtly.

I bit my lip beneath my mask and hesitated before answering. "We're currently imprisoned in the enemy base."

I heard him curse and then he rolled off the bed. He landed with a muffled thump and hissed in pain. He slowly made his way towards me. When he reached the bars he rested against them. Feeling the warmth emanating off of him eased my mind slightly. However, worry of infection and fever soon filled my mind.

He reached up and with some difficulty removed the armor over his chest. He fumbled around with it and then produced a slim scroll.

"What is that?" I asked with wide eyes.

"A transportation scroll. It will take you to Konoha." He replied.

"I thought those were illegal." I breathed, eyeing it with newfound admiration. I had no idea he carried something like that around with him.

"They are, but I had Naruto make this specifically for our team in case we ever got into trouble." He explained.

My eyes filled with tears at the thought of never seeing Naruto again. In that moment, I made my decision. My teammate needed to leave. He knew more about Konoha than I did. Besides I could hold my own for a few days until back up arrived.

"Take it." He said, offering it to me.

I shook my head. "No. You're more injured. Your wound could be infected and you need to be treated right away. I won't budge on this."

"I'm not leaving you here." He argued.

"Yes. You are. Who will most likely survive in this situation? Me, and you know it. Besides one of us has to inform the Hokage of this." I said calmly.

I could hear him gritting his teeth. "I don't want to leave you."

"You have to. Now, go, before they catch us." I said.

"One thing." He said. He pulled up his mask, then pulled up mine and crushed his mouth against mine. He lingered for a second before pulling away.

"I'll be back soon. Just hold on." He said, and then opened the scroll. He bit his finger, smeared blood across the paper and disappeared in a flash of bright light.

I slumped against the bars and adjusted my mask. The guards ran over to the cells, alerted by the bright light.

"Where's the other prisoner?!" they yelled at me.

I only stayed silent. Thoughts were spinning in my head, brought on by the kiss I had just received. It felt so familiar yet I knew I had never kissed my partner before… had I?

I got quite the beating for allowing my partner to escape. Of course, it hardly compared to some of the beatings I took from Tsunade during our legendary training sessions.

They threw me back into my cell. I crawled to the bed and hefted myself on top of it. I curled into a ball facing the wall and closed my eyes. Despite all my circumstances, I fell quickly asleep.

When I came to, they were letting a large blue man into my cell. I thought it was a little too early for hallucinations, but maybe they'd poisoned me.

"Are you real?" I asked slowly, still groggy from sleep.

The man laughed. "Of course I am, and so is this." He pulled a huge sword wrapped in bandages from over his shoulder.

I should've been afraid, but I wasn't. "Are you going to kill me?"

"Not today, sweet cheeks. I'm just here to drain your chakra. Are you going to be difficult?" he asked.

I shook my head back and forth a few too many times. Maybe they had poisoned me.

The man came closer and rested his sword lightly on my chest. I could feel it vibrating as it sucked all of my chakra away. As my chakra neared the bottom of the reserves I felt my heart rate speed up and I started sweating.

"That seems like enough." The man said lifting his sword. I thought I heard it growl, but I couldn't be too sure. Even though I was lying down the room seemed to spin.

"Unluckily for you, my sword seems to like your chakra. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again." The blue man said.

"Wait." I said as he started to leave. I tried to lift my hand to grab his cloak, but my arm only flopped off the bed.

"Tell… tell your leader that… that I'm going to escape. He can't… can't keep me here… forever. No matter what he does… I'll escape." I promised. Darkness overwhelmed me and I fell into unconsciousness.

Strange dreams plagued me all night. Images of my partner filled them. Fighting with my partner, looking at my partner, kissing my partner… fucking my partner.

They were just dreams brought on by the circumstances, right? None of that had ever happened. We would never break the rules like that.

"_Wake up_." A voice demanded. So, I did.

Strange purple eyes with concentric ovals stared at me. They were too close. I flinched back. He blinked and leaned away.

"Tell me about Konoha." He said softly.

"It's hot there in the summer." I said, rolling my head back and looking at the ceiling. It was gray stone. There were miniscule cracks that I could just barely see.

"That's not what I wanted to know." He replied.

I sighed. "I know, but I can't give you any important information."

The man cocked his head and studied me. "Then I suppose we're not going to get along very well. It's such a shame, too. You have such a beautiful face. I would hate to ruin it." It was then that I realized my mask had been removed. I'm not sure what I had expected, but I thought I'd always have it as a last defense if nothing more than to hide the emotions that crossed my face.

The man was saying something but I had stopped listening. "Sound good?" he asked.

"What?" was my eloquent reply.

"I'll avoid your face for now, but everything else is fair game." He explained. I shrugged. It wasn't like I could stop him, now could I? To be honest, I didn't care about my face. The only time I saw it was when I looked in the mirror and half the time my face was covered by a mask anyway.

"Let's begin shall we?" he asked, picking up a slim pipe from a nearby table.

I tried to go to another place, but that's a little difficult when pipes are being shoved through your flesh. By the time he was done, I felt like a porcupine. I told him so.

"It's quite a beautiful sight. I'll send someone in to patch you up for next time. I do need to keep you alive after all." He replied and then left me alone in the room.

In ANBU, there had been training to prepare us for a situation where we captured by the enemy. I had gone through it like every other ANBU operative, but it couldn't compare to the real thing. Of course, we were just getting started and by the time I was done with this place I wondered if I would even be recognizable.

A slight man walked into the room. He cautiously approached me. There wasn't really a need for that; I was probably too weak to walk right now.

His hands shook slightly as he held them above my wounds. He worked carefully on each spike and did the bare minimum of healing required. He must've had impressive chakra stores to heal all the puncture wounds.

"Someone will be sent in to take you back to your cell." He said when he finished healing me. I only nodded.

My thoughts drifted to Konoha. Had my teammate made it safely there? Were they organizing a rescue mission, right now? When Naruto got wind of my situation he would freak. Even if the village didn't authorize a rescue mission he would come here himself. I could count on my whole team to do that for me. I would've done that for them.

The big blue guy entered the room. "Hey there. I told you we'd be seeing each other again." Big Blue would be a good name for him.

He leaned down and gently lifted me into his arms. He carried me bridal style back to my cell. On the way I told him "You know I don't expect you to be so nice to me. I am a prisoner after all."

"My mother taught me to be nice to pretty girls. Plus, the boss would _not _be happy if I injured you." He told me.

I glanced around. We were in a dank hallway, nearing my cell. "Doesn't look like there are many pretty girls around these parts."

He laughed. "You don't know how right you are. It's a total sausage fest around here."

I couldn't help but laugh. He sounded so disappointed. He laid me down on my bed. "Thanks, Big Blue." I told him.

"Hm, I've never had a nickname before. I think I like it." He told me, winking.

I nodded and then rolled over to face the wall, clearly dismissing him. He left without another word.

My thoughts drifted from one friend to another. I wished I could have hung out with my girlfriends more often. We often forget about the girls in our life when we're involved with a man, but it would've been nice to gossip with them one more time.

If I died here, I'm not sure how people would react. Naruto would probably go crazy and kill everyone in this base. Sasuke would become even more brooding than usual and put up even more walls to keep people away. Kakashi would do the same thing only more subtly. Even after all the years of knowing him, I could count on my hand how many deep conversations we'd had over the years. I didn't know Shisui well enough to predict how he would've reacted. He liked me so much it would probably traumatize him off women for forever or at least for a long time.

But my teammate… it was he who I was most worried about. From everything I had gathered it didn't seem like he had very many people he was close to. And being on a team with him, it felt like we were more than teammates, like I could talk to him about anything if I ever wanted to. He comforted me in Rain, and could tell I had desperately wanted to leave. If I died, he would probably get himself sent on a suicide mission.

I felt my moods darken; I would do my best to survive, but it was all in fate's hands now.

The days blended together. The only way I could tell one day from another was when Big Blue would drain my chakra. I think he did it daily. There was no sunlight down here. In fact, it was often pitch black. I could just barely make out a light at the end of the hallway if I strained at the bars.

Sessions with Purple Eyes were often and more painful than the previous session. I held out. He would often ask me only once for information at the very beginning of the session and then spend the rest of the time shoving pipes in me. I think he did that mostly to dampen my spirits. If that was his aim, it worked.

I hadn't laughed since after that first session with Big Blue. I couldn't find anything to laugh about now.

Konoha felt so far away. My friends and teammates felt so far away.

I was so weak these days. I was fed the bare minimum to keep me from starving. My skin was stretched tightly over my bones. My ribs were prominent and even standing up my stomach was concave.

Big Blue barely had to strain to pick me up. He commented how light I was and when he came to drain my chakra the next time he brought a high caloric protein bar. It was the best thing I'd eaten in days. It, at least, kept my hair from falling out.

Lately, I was obsessively sleeping. I got more sleep there than I had ever gotten in my life. If my chakra wasn't being drained or I wasn't being tortured I was asleep. I barely had the energy to do anything else.

I wasn't sure I could even walk anymore.

"My, my, my. How far you have fallen, Sakura." Purple Eyes said to me during one of our sessions.

I didn't respond.

"How do you think your friends would feel if they saw you now? I think they'd feel sorry for you and want to protect you. Everything you've worked so hard for over the years. Poof! Gone just like that in a matter of weeks. Where are your friends anyway? My sources in Konoha say that there was only a brief stir about your captivity but nothing else. I don't think they're coming my dear Sakura. How do you feel now about your village? Ready to give up information?"

Nobody was coming for me? I'd been in here weeks and no one was even bothering to come and break me out?

I couldn't help it. I started to laugh. Hysterically. Like what he'd just said was the funniest thing I'd ever heard. It was either laugh or cry and I'd rather look crazy than weak.

"Shut up." He said and backhanded me across the face. "Oops. My bad. I wasn't supposed to touch your face was I?" he asked.

My laughter had stopped as soon as he touched me. Darkness welled up inside of me. Was it too much to ask to go home?

Purple Eyes continued the session and the routine went on. When he was done the medic came in and healed me then Big Blue took me back to my prison cell.

I fell asleep again.

I found myself lying in water about three inches high. I sat up. I appeared to be in some type of sewer system. I didn't even want to think about what could have possibly been in that water.

I stood and started sloshing through the water. I could immediately tell this was a dream because I could actually walk. I was still stick thin but I could _walk_. If I could walk, could I do other things? I picked up my pace and soon I was running down the hall. It felt so good to run again.

I could feel energy amassing around me. I was starting to near a large metal door. The energy seemed to be coming from behind it.

I gently eased the door open and slipped inside. I gasped. Directly across from me were huge steel bars that held darkness behind them. Instinctively, I knew that there wasn't just darkness behind those bars. Halfway up where the bars met was a small seal.

"It's done." A deep voice growled from behind the bars. It sent chills down my back.

That was when I noticed a familiar figure standing in front of the bars. He was wearing his trademark black and orange jumpsuit. When he turned, his eyes were so _blue_. I had forgotten how blue they were.

I ran to him. He was running too and we slammed into each other. He wrapped his arms all the way around me. I buried my face in his shoulder and inhaled his scent. He smelled like _home_. I started to cry.

"Hey, hey. Don't cry." He said pulling away slightly.

"I'm just so… so happy to see you. Even if this is a dream and if I don't remember it when I wake up. I don't care. I've missed you so much." I said through my tears.

His hand came up and he wiped the tears from my face. "Listen I don't know how much time I have so I have to make this quick. We didn't forget about you and we're coming for you. It took us a little while to find out where you were but we'll be there soon. Hold on for another day. We're coming."

"How do I know this isn't just a dream?" I asked.

"I've been practicing sending chakra messages to people back in Konoha. Once I got pretty consistent I tried you. This is the first time I've been able to get through to you. This is the place where the nine-tails stays." He said gesturing around.

There wasn't any noise coming from behind the bars.

"Don't worry about him. He's asleep." Naruto said grinning.

The dream flickered like static. "The chakra is almost gone. I have to tell you one last thing: a message from your teammate." The dream was flickering more violently now.

Naruto's voice sounded like it was coming from far away and all I could make out was "Your teammate wanted me to tell you he's – "

I woke up, heart pounding. Could what he said have been real? Were they really coming for me? My hope rose but I quickly crushed it. What if it hadn't been real? I would get my hopes up for nothing.

I found I couldn't go back to sleep after that. My mind was racing with possibilities and I couldn't help but let a little hope seep throughout me.

I had almost forgotten what Naruto looked like. The way he smelled, the timbre of his voice. I knew them like my own self but somehow the details had started to escape me. I wondered what he'd been trying to say before he'd been cut off.

What I thought was probably a few hours later, Big Blue came in and drained what little chakra had coalesced in me last night. He sighed as if didn't enjoy doing this to me.

I didn't even look at him anymore. I stared at the ceiling and thought about better places to be.

He dropped a protein bar on my chest and then left without a word. I kind of missed the banter we once had. He was the only one who had felt like anything close to a friend in this place. Which was ridiculous, I know, but I couldn't help the way I felt.

I placed the bar in my pocket and promptly forgot about it. I wasn't hungry.

The day dragged by. I couldn't help but think of a possible escape. I had tried to escape once, but had been almost immediately caught and punished.

I sighed and resituated myself on my bed. I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

There were strange sounds filtering through the walls. Muffled booms and thuds. The guards were speaking quietly. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but they sounded slightly panicked.

I could only lie on my bed and listen. If this place came down on top of us, I didn't think I would mind. I would finally have my escape.

I heard steps thunder down the hall towards my cell. I'm not sure whom I was expecting but I wasn't expecting Big Blue. He opened my cell and swept me up into his arms.

I hung limply in his arms my head bouncing with every step he took. He took me down several hallways. Dust and little pieces of rock rained down on us.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Your friends have finally arrived." He told me. Hope and happiness welled in my heart. I yelled for joy. "Finally." I said, settling down a little.

Then I realized that the sounds of battle were beginning to recede. "Where are you taking me?" I asked.

"I'm hiding you where no one will find you." He explained.

"No. No, Big Blue. Don't do this. Please." I begged.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. As much as I like you, I like having my head attached to my body even more. Leader ordered me to put you somewhere for safe-keeping." He said.

"No!" I screamed. I started screaming as loud as I could, which wasn't very. I screamed for my teammates. I screamed all of their names, begging for help. No one heard.

The sounds were almost completely nonexistent now. Big Blue entered a small room in a small side hallway. I felt completely exhausted. All the excitement had taken all my energy.

Big Blue rested me gently against the wall which I slumped against and closed my eyes. I felt tears trickle down my cheeks. If Big Blue saw them, he didn't say anything.

I made a vow to myself. I wasn't killed or saved today I would kill myself. I couldn't take any more torture. I hadn't been outside or eaten real food in who knew how long.

Big Blue cocked his head to the side, listening to something. He looked from me to the door and then back again. He looked indecisive. Finally, he moved to the door. "Don't move." He said and then left me alone in the small room.

Ha, what a funny joke. I could barely lift my head. I moved my hand and something crinkled in my pocket. The protein bar.

A large boom sounded and more dust fell from the ceiling. Was it my imagination or had cracks also appeared in the ceiling?

As quickly as I could I pulled the bar out of my pocket and tried to open it. My fingers only fumbled with the packaging so I tore it open with my teeth. I ate the bar in about three bites. It made me feel slightly nauseous, but I was waiting for the sugar rush.

I felt a surge of energy and pulled myself to my feet with the help of the wall. Leaning heavily on said wall, I shuffled to the door. It took me a few tries to open the door, but I eventually managed it.

I peeked outside, but there was no one around. I wasn't sure what way to go. I hadn't seen any of the base except for the path from my cell to the torture chamber.

I decided to go away from the fighting. If I distracted one of my teammates while they were fighting they could die.

I shuffled along the wall. I felt like a zombie. Hell, I probably looked like one. Blood was all over my clothes, most of it mine. I hadn't washed in weeks; I must've stunk to high hell.

I made my way through the endless hallways. Suddenly, I heard footsteps running towards me. I hid beneath a table that was almost completely covered in shadows.

The steps were soft, like the person didn't want to be heard. Whoever it was, would stop occasionally and check inside rooms. As they neared I could hear them swear under their breath. The voice was low, so it must've been a man's. Why did that voice sound so familiar?

**Who could it be?!**


	7. Chapter 7

**We're almost done, guys. There's only one chapter left after this. **

Then they passed beneath a light and it lit up their features. I almost collapsed from relief. He had almost reached the table I was hiding beneath.

I used the last bit of energy to crawl out from beneath the table.

"Stop, right there." He said, stopping as well. I did as he asked. I couldn't see his feet. All I could see were his standard issue sandals.

"Who are you?" he asked. I barely had the strength to lift my head. Out of all the things I could've said in that moment the thing that spilled out of my mouth was "Don't you remember me, Itachi Uchiha?"

I heard him breathe my name and then he was running towards me. He caught me before I could collapse. I burst into tears at the feel of his arms around me. I had almost thought he wasn't real, but his touch proved he was.

"You're really here." I said, I reached up and touched his face. I knew Itachi Uchiha wasn't normally one for having his face touched, but I figured he would let it go this one time.

His eyes never left my face. He was looking at me with an unreadable expression. I'm not sure why he was looking at me like that. We'd never really talked to each other before. Maybe, he was just relieved to find me. I was his brother's teammate after all.

Before I could react, his lips were on mine. He pulled away and whispered, "I promised you I'd come back. Here I am."

I was confused. The only who had promised he'd come back was my team… mate…

But as I thought about it more thoroughly, it all made sense. Why Itachi always dealt with me more politely than he would the other girls my age. Why he would sometimes even initiate conversation with me. Because technically we already knew each other.

More tears spilled onto my cheeks. "I'm here. You're ok. You're safe. I won't let you go." Itachi said to me. He kissed my tears away.

When my tears had dribbled to a stop he stood with me in his arms and started walking down the hallway.

He pressed a button on the microphone around his neck. "I have her. We're good to go. We'll meet at the rendezvous."

Itachi took several turns, but I couldn't take my eyes off of him. "Close your eyes." He told me. I did as he asked. Suddenly I felt a cool breeze hit my skin and sunlight warmed my face. Behind my eyelids I could see the glow of the sun. I sighed at the relief of finally being outside once more.

When the light didn't seem so bright I opened my eyes slowly. Everything around me looked so vivid with color. I couldn't believe I had never noticed how bright everything was before.

I looked up at Itachi and noticed how the sun was making his hair light up with different colors of the rainbow. I snagged a lock and rubbed it between my fingers. Had I ever felt something so soft? Not for a very long time…

"I'm going to have to stop you right there." A voice said. I looked over to see Big Blue standing in front of us. He was splattered with blood and was missing his left arm.

"Don't do this." I said to him.

"Sorry, Sakura. I don't have a choice." He replied.

Itachi turned and set me down beneath a tree. "No, please. Let's just run away." I begged him. What if I lost him?

"I have to do this, Sakura." He said, cupping my cheek. He briefly kissed my mouth and then straightened and turned to face Big Blue.

"If you hand over the girl, we don't have to do this." Big Blue told Itachi.

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to take her." Itachi replied.

"You asked for it." Big Blue said with a grin.

Immediately, Big Blue started forming signs. Itachi did the same. He quickly blew out a huge fireball, which was doused by the water dragon Big Blue had produced.

The dragon headed straight for Itachi who dodged out of the way. It dropped suddenly to the ground before it reached me. Big Blue's eyes met mine from across the field and he nodded.

Itachi pulled a katana out of seemingly nowhere and charged Big Blue with it. They fought for several moments. Itachi was more graceful and agile while Big Blue depended more on his brute strength.

They jumped away from each other and Itachi created another fireball. Big Blue dodged. He began forming a long and complicated series of hand signs.

A huge water bubble began rising from the ground. Itachi used his chakra to stand on top of it. When the bubble formed a dome over the landscape, Big Blue started unwrapping the bandages on his sword. Once the last bandages fell from the sword, he thrust the sword into the dome. It immediately came to life and swam straight for Itachi. Then Big Blue, himself, eased into the dome.

He and his sword targeted Itachi and started chasing him around the dome. Itachi had to use several complicated maneuvers to avoid both of them.

I had to get Itachi help. His fire style was useless against so much water. I shakily stood. The protein bar had renewed a little of my chakra, but not much. I would have to get this right on the first try.

I put my hands together and concentrated all my chakra together. I tried to pack it as tightly together as possible so it would explode outwards. When the energy was released I hoped Naruto would notice and come to our aid. He had become more adept at sensing chakra signatures especially that of his teammates'.

When I couldn't make the ball of chakra go any tighter I released the pressure. The chakra blew my hair away from my body for a moment. The flare was nothing compared to what I used to be able to do, but I hoped it was enough.

Unfortunately, my flare had caught someone – or rather some_thing_ – else's attention.

Big Blue's sword stopped chasing Itachi and swiveled to face me. It started swimming straight for the edge of the bubble, gaining speed the closer it got. I could see Big Blue yell and reach a hand out but his sword never slowed. I didn't have enough time to move out of the way.

My eyes sought out Itachi. He was running as fast as he could towards me. I could see the tightly reined panic on his face.

He launched himself off the dome the same time the sword emerged from it. He tackled it and started wrestling it. I could hear awful growling and tearing noises and then Itachi screamed.

Big Blue emerged from the bubble and pulled his sword away from Itachi. He looked down on him in pity. He lifted his sword.

"Stop!" I yelled. I could already see the blood pooling around Itachi. I moved as quickly as I could to his side. I collapsed to my knees beside him and took in the damage.

Itachi's torso was literally ripped open. I could see his intestines. He was going to die. My eyes met his and I could see that even he realized he was going to die.

"You're not going to die." I told him firmly.

Tsunade had told me about forbidden jutsu once, one with horrible consequences. She told me I could never use it. When I asked why she had shown it for me she said it was for the time when I had no other choice. When the one I loved was about to die and there was no other way to save him.

That was when I knew. I was in love with Itachi. I took a deep breath and began forming hand seals.

"What are you doing, Sakura?" Itachi asked heavily. I wasn't even sure how he could talk.

"Saving you." I replied as my hands began to glow green with healing energy.

"Stop. You don't have enough energy." He said looking at me with wide eyes.

I raised my hands to his chest and began knitting the tissue together. Even his organs had sustained damage.

"Don't do this. You're going to kill yourself!" Itachi argued with me even as I repaired his broken body.

I heard the arrival of the others. Big Blue was still standing over us. "Go, you can't fight all of them." I told him.

"We'll see each other again." he told me.

"No. This is the end." I said with certainty. He left just as the others converged on us.

"Sakura, what happened? Your chakra is dangerously low! You have to stop right now!" Naruto yelled at me. He moved to pull me away but I sent him a look that even the Uchihas would've been jealous of.

"Sakura… you're dying." He said softly.

"What?" Itachi asked.

"She's giving you her life energy." Naruto explained.

"Stop." Itachi said weakly, trying to push me off of him. Even though I was weak I had slightly more strength than he did. I was going to finish this and no one was going to stop me.

"Stop." He begged me. I could hear the tears in his voice. I watched as the last of his skin knit itself together. I ran my hand over the smooth, new skin and smiled proudly.

"All done." I said softly. My heart was starting to slow. I felt so tired. I knew I was dying, but I had saved the love of my life and he was more than worth my life.

I closed my eyes. I felt Itachi's body shaking underneath me. "Shh... it's ok." I tried to say, but nothing came out. I felt all of my aches and pains slowly fade away into nothing. Everything faded away until even the voices were gone. Then I, too, was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

**ITACHI **

I had never cried in front of anyone before, yet here I was crying like a baby in front of almost four other people. Almost.

I slowly sat up and pulled Sakura into my lap. I cradled her body and let my sadness overwhelm me. I never got to tell her how I felt. "I love you. I love you. I love you." I whispered over and over into her hair.

Naruto fell to his knees besides me. He stared blankly at Sakura and then started beating the ground. He howled and screamed and cursed, until he fell silent, staring at Sakura.

I stared down at Sakura. She looked so peaceful, like she was asleep. I could almost believe that she was. I brushed her hair out of her face. Even though she hadn't showered in weeks and was still in the same clothes I'd last seen her in, she was as beautiful as always. Nothing could ever hide how beautiful she was.

Sasuke knelt beside Naruto. He whispered something to Naruto. His voice was completely flat. No emotion made it's way through to his voice. I watched as Sasuke helped Naruto up and then led him away. Sasuke looked back and his eyes met mine. I could see unshed tears shining in his eyes.

Kakashi was punching a tree over and over. I could see tears pouring from his eyes. Finally he slumped to the ground, exhausted.

When I had cried all my tears away, I stood up with Sakura in my arms. She was so light. She was like a bird, tiny and fragile.

"We need to go." I said. My voice sounded so cold. Kakashi dragged himself to a standing position and Sasuke and Naruto stumbled over to me. They avoided looking at Sakura.

We started off slow but quickly gained speed. We all only wanted to get Sakura back where she belonged: home.

They had been alerted by the patrols that we were approaching. They were all waiting for us at the gates. They cheered when they saw us. Ino ran up, but slowed when she saw our faces. She took one glance at Sakura and I saw her eyes well up with tears. Once the first fell, she started to sob. She sank to her knees, but we continued on.

Everyone else started looking horrified as we approached. When they could see she was clearly dead the crying started and the screaming. Everything we had gone through on that godforsaken battlefield.

I could see movement in the crowd. "Get out of my way." Tsunade said, shoving people aside. "Let me through. Let me see."

She stopped just short of us, her eyes locked on Sakura. She took a slow step forward and then another. When she got close enough, she reached out and touched Sakura's head gently, like Sakura would break if she were touched too roughly.

Tsunade kept her face carefully blank. She stumbled back a few steps.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade. We tried to stop her." Naruto said.

"Stop her? From doing what?" Tsunade asked, confused.

"She used a forbidden jutsu that enabled her to use her life energy as healing power. She save Itachi." Naruto explained.

Tsunade's found went white. "How long has it been since she died?"

Naruto struggled to speak. "Less than 24 hours."

A strange look came over her face. "Set her down, Itachi."

I didn't want to, but she was looking at me so peculiarly that I did as she asked. I numbly placed her in the dirt. It felt wrong to set her somewhere so unclean. She deserved better than this.

"Sorry I'm late. Why is Sakura on the ground? Is she ok?" Shisui's voice filtered through to me.

Oh God. Everyone else was watching Tsunade intently. No one was paying any attention to Shisui. I wanted to stand and explain everything to him. To apologize, do something, but I found I was unable to move.

My eyes were drawn back Tsunade as she formed some seals. Her hands glowed the same green Sakura's had when she healed me.

"Itachi, call her." Tsunade said.

"What?"

"Just do as I say." She snapped at me.

I took a moment to figure out what to say. "Sakura, it's time to come back to us. You're home safe, surrounded by all your friends and family. We really, really need you to wake up for us." I told her. I bent down and whispered into her ear. "I love you and I _need _you. I'm not going to let you die this easily. Now, wake. _Up_."

Sakura gasped and sat up, nearly hitting Tsunade's head with her own. She looked around at the people surrounding her. Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi pounced on her. She was crying and laughing and so were they.

I quietly stood up. Shisui knelt where I had just been. He tapped on her shoulder and she turned. She pulled him into a hug when she saw him.

It looked like my job here was done. As much as I might've wanted to stay, she looked like she was in capable hands. I started walking away slowly.

The murmurs of joyful, happy voices faded the further I walked.

She had saved _me_, but of course she was going back to Shisui, just like always.

I heard footsteps running behind me. "Hey!" a voice more familiar to me than my own yelled out.

I turned around. There she was, standing before me. "You don't just get to walk away from me after I saved your life." She said exasperatedly.

"Technically I just saved your life. I think we're even now." I replied. She rolled her beautiful green eyes; I had thought I would never see again.

"I… remember everything. Apparently dying makes genjutsus release." She said.

I couldn't help but laugh. "I'll have to remember that next time I use genjutsu."

"I was wondering if we could start over." She said. She looked down at her feet, shyly.

"What about Shisui?" I asked, not allowing the hope I felt to ease into my voice.

"I explained the situation to him and he understood." She said.

"What situation?"

"The situation where I'm totally, completely in love with you." She replied, finally looking up at me once more. When I saw her eyes, I was done holding back. I pulled her to me and kissed her.

I kissed her so she would have no doubt of the love I felt for her.

"Does this mean you love me too?" she asked, breaking our kiss.

"Yes, you silly girl." I pulled her to me again and thought if I could do this to her everyday I would never be unhappy again.

**Thank you guys so much for all the encouragement and kind words you've given me. I appreciated them all. I hoped you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's been a blast. Stay awesome. **


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